Garment finishing apparatus



June 25, 1935. .1. w. STEELE GARMENT FINISHING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 10, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR,

"ATTORNEY ,June 25; 1935. T

J. W. STEELE GARMENT FINISHING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 10, 1955 2 Sheets -Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 114 Sfee/e,

ATTORNEY Patented June 25, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,005,960 GARMENT FINISHING APPARATUS James W. Steele, Kansas City, Mo.

Application August 10, 1933, Serial No. 684,530

18 Claims.

The present invention relates to garment finishing apparatus, and aims to devise a novel method of operation as well as apparatus for carrying out the hand ironing work of finishing shirts and like garments in factories or laundries.

The primary object in View is to provide means for carrying out such hand ironing operation ina more efficient and accurate manner by standardizing it with reference to the original cut or lines, particularly the top shoulder and sleeve lines of the garment, as these slope down from the back of the collar or neck-band opening of the garment.

For this purpose I provide means for laying and setting the garment correctly in accordance with the shoulder slope of the garment, preferably by engagement with the interior of the top shoulder lines thereof, in addition to which provision is made for appropriate adjustment of this means in conformity with the size of the collar or neck-band opening of the garment.

Besides devising an efficient and novel method of carrying out these functions, it is also sought to provide a practical apparatus, preferably of a pedal-operated type, whereby the improved operation may be conveniently performed by the operator during the hand ironing work required in the finishing process.

It is a further object of the invention to pro- 30 vide apparatus for this purpose which will be suitably adapted for use with a, standard form of garment finishing table, without other changes therein or interference with the regular finishing operation.

With the foregoing general objects in view, aswell as various minor features as will appear in the course of the detailed specification, the invention will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating a practical form of embodiment thereof, after which those features and combinations deemed to be patentable will be particularly set forth and claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation, showing a garment finishing apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same,- with a portion of the pedestal broken away;

Figure 3 is a plan View, with the auxiliary table removed and showing a shirt in the first step of the finishing operation;

Figures 4 and 5 are fragmentary plan views showing succeeding steps of the finishing operation;

Figures 6 and '7 are enlarged sectional views representing sections taken on the lines 66 and 'E1, respectively, of Figure 3;

Figure 8 is an enlarged perspective detail view of one of the shirt setting blades;

Figure 9 is a sectional detail view of the blade pivot structures; and

Figure 10 is a plan view showing different positions of the rear end portion of one of the blades.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, these show the present improvements in operative relation to a garment finishing table of the character illustrated in my Patent No. 1,941,234 dated December 29, 1933, which comprises a main table l2 carried by a pedestal member I4 provided with a rear supporting bracket I5 for a hinge rod l6 provided with arms I! for pivotally supporting a frame 58; this frame slidingly accommodates a pair of rods l9 mounted in bracket members 20 attached to the under face of an auxiliary table 22, whereby the latter may be shifted into either of two sleeve-ironing positions convenient for the manipulation of the work by the operator standing at the front of the table I2, in addition to which the auxiliary table may be swung into lowered or horizontal position directlyoverlying the table it or into elevated inoperative position as shown in Figures 1 and 2, which movement is facilitated by the action of a spring 23, and suitably limited by stops 24 (Figure 1). The construction of the auxiliary table and its operation are set forth in greater detail in said patent, and are herein referred to only as representing a type of garment finishing apparatus for which'the present improvements are particularly well adapted.

Heretofore in the shirt finishing operation, it has been the practice generally to lay the garment upon the table for finishing the collar or neck band and adjacent body portions without any particular way or means of carrying out this operation with reference to the original set or lines of the garment, as determined by the cut or design of its manufacture; even where appliances, such as neck formers or shapers and folding devices for facilitating the folding of the garment, have been employed, these have not been expressly designed to afford the garment finisher any guide or other means of determining the proper set or lay of the garment in accordance with which the finishing or ironing operations should be carried out in order to conform to the original cut and pattern of the garment.

Now it is well known that in the manufacture of garments such as shirts, there is in the main a definite common characteristic as regards the relation between the collar opening and the angle or slope of the adjoining shoulder portions, in that this angle or slope is substantially the same for all such garments, regardless of size; and that, therefore, although the size of the garment may vary and with it the size of the collar or neck band, the slope of the garment from the back of the collar on down the tops of the shoulders and sleeves will re main practically unchanged. Accordingly, where means can be employed for determining the lay of the garment during the finishing operation with reference to the back of the collar or neck band and in accordance with the slope of the shoulders therefrom, not only will the finishing operation be carried out more scientifically and accurately, but the subsequent folding steps will be carried out more correctly as a natural sequence, and result in a superior product, whether this be the product of the shirt manufacturer or the output of a laundry. It is the principal object of the present invention to provide means for accomplishing this purpose.

Projecting from the rear of the table ii. is a supporting arm 2'! extending rearwardly at a height somewhat above the top of the table and provided with spaced bearings 28 for a horizontal rod 38 on which is mounted a pivotal sleeve 3! between said bearings 28 (see Figures 6 and '7). Within this sleeve ii is fitted a sliding rod 32, to the forward end portion of which is attached a bracket element 33, carrying a pair of spaced pivot pins 34, while to the rod 32 at the rearv of said sleeve 3! is attached a sleeve 35 carrying a pair of similarly spaced pins 36, a coil compression spring 38 being interposed in abutting relation to said sleeves 3i and 35. Toggle links 40 are connected with said pins 36, and the other ends of said links ii) connected with pivot pins -il carried by sleeves 12 mounted on the outer end portions of the rod 3!} for sliding movement between the bearings 28 and a pair of set collars 54 serving to limit said movement.

Fixed or integral with each sleeve 42 is an arm 46, the two arms 46 converging forwardly towards the table and their forward ends being formed with bearing elements 68 for accommodating the vertical pivot pins 50 of a pair of garment shoulder-engaging plates or blades projecting horizontally over the table surface (Figures 1-5). To the upper ends of the pivot pins 50 are secured a pair of operating levers or fingers 53 projecting forward and having their ends connected by operating links 56,-the rear ends of the latter being attached to the pivot pins 34, as clearly illustrated in Figures 35. The levers or fingers 53 operate between a pair of limiting shoulders 55 formed on the upper ends of the bearing elements 48 (see Figure 8).

To the rear end of the rod 32 is attached a collar 58, the forward movement of which, in the sliding action of said rod, is designed to engage said collar with the rear end of the sleeve for actuating the latter. This movement is produced by means of a link at connecting said col" lar with a bell crank lever B! pivoted at 62 to the rear end of the fixed arm El, and in turn connected by a link 63 to the rear end of a lever E l fulcrumed at E5 on the pedestal Hi and having its forward end connected by a link 68 to a pedal 61 fulcrumed in a bracket 68 at the base of said pedestal (see Figure 1). The pedal is held in raised position by means of a spring "iii corresponding to the rearwardly retracted position of the rod 32 and forwardly projecting position of the blades 5! in parallel relation, as shown in Figure 3, whereas operation of the pedal to lower the same produces successive movements of the parts as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5,- first a lateral swing of the blades 5! in response to the forward movement of the rod independently of the sleeve 35 (Figure 4), and then a longitudinal thrust motion of said blades in response to the movement of said sleeve 35 after it is engaged by the collar 58, producing a spread ing movement of the sleeves 52 by the toggle action of the links til (Figure 5).

In explanation of this operation and its functions as regards the garment finishing operation, it may be stated that one object is to position the blades 55 initially in forwardly projecting relation to facilitate their being received Within the collar opening of a shirt H, which inserting movement is further facilitated by the operators slightly raising the blades into the dotted line position shown in Figure l, which is permitted by the pivotal mounting upon the rod 39 and the pivotal connections between the collar 58 and lever 6 i. The first part of the pedal action moves the rod 32 forwardly independently of the sleeve 35, thereby operating the links 54 and arms 53 to throw the blades 5! outwardly into position for engagement with the top shoulder lines of the shirt, at theinterior of the garment, as represented in Figure 4. As already stated, the angle of these top shoulder lines is a substantially fixed and definite relation to the rear side of the collar opening and without regard to the size of this opening. Accordingly, the arms 36 and parts carried thereby are so designed as to be readily received within the smallest size of collar opening, and the outer shoulders 55, limiting the outward movement of the levers or fingers 53, are so positioned as to limit the outward swinging movement of the blades to positions corresponding to said predetermined shoulder angle or slope.

It will be noted that the size and outline of the blades 55 are such that their inner rear corners (see Figure will project across (i. e., beneath and slightly past) the neck band at the juncture between the neck and shoulders, so that when the blades are swung outward as represented in Figure 4 they will present continuous straight edges for engagement with the top shoulder lines of the garment the full length of said blades from the rear line of the collar opening to the extreme ends of the blades.

The operator having placed the shirt (which has already been machine-ironed) upon the table i?! with the sleeves overhanging the ends of the table and with the blades 5i within the collar opening. the first operation of the pedal swings the blades 5! around to the predetermined shoulder angle, as limited by the stop elements E5,after which further depression of the pedal causes the collar 58 to actuate the sleeve 35 and thereby spread the sleeves 32, so that the combined action resulting from the continued sliding movement of the rod 32 and spreading movement of the sleeves G2 is a longitudinal outward thrust movement of the blades to conform to the par-- ticular size of the shirt being finished as represented by the size of its collar or neckband opening,the length of the blades being preferably such as to project slightly past the shoulder seams 72 (as illustrated in Figure 5). In this spreading movement the operator merely depresses the pedal sufficiently to spread the elements 48 to the outer sides of the collar opening and without any material pressure against the sides of the collar or neclrband such as would tend to distort the collar in any way.

Atthis juncture the operator, by taking hold of the body of the shirt, draws it down to snug the shoulder lines along the rear'edges of the blades whichautomatically sets the shoulder portions of the garment, front and back, including the seams 12, taking out all the fullness and thereby smoothing out any wrinkles in both the front and back of the garment. This work of setting and the straightening out of the garment for the final steps of the finishing operation is carried out not only more easily than by the usual method without any guiding and positioning means, but in about half the time formerly required for arranging, straightening the shoulder seams, smoothing out Wrinkles, etc., and with the immense advantage now resulting from the fact the shirt is accurately and correctly laid and set for finishing in accordance with the lines or cut ofits manufacture.

The operator may now complete the work of finishing around the collar and shoulder seams in the usual way, in which connection it may be noted that a collar-support '13 (such as that illus trated in my Patent No. 1,879,918) may be used to advantage, (as illustrated in Figure 5), since this device helps the collar to hold its shape and set it with reference to the adjoining portions of the shirt; and for holding the buttons and buttonholes in place suitable fastening devices 14 (of the type shown in my copending application Serial No; 667,345, filed April 22, 1933) may be employed for leaving the shaft, when finished, with the buttons protruding only partly through the buttonholes. The hand-ironing of the sleeves may next be carried out by use of the auxiliary table 22, which until now has been held up in an out-of-the-way position without any interference with the devices of the present invention; and quite obviously the location of these devices below the operating level of the table 22 is such as to offer no obstruction to the sleeveironing operation.

It will be understood that upon release of the pedal, the action of the spring 18 serves to automatically retract the rod 32 to original position,

which movement, accompanied by the expansion of the spring 38, returns the blades 5! to the position illustrated in Figure 3.

It will be noted that all the operations indicated have taken place without any shifting of the garment from its original position after being laid upon the table l2,-in itself an indication of the time and labor-saving features of the method herein employed. The same method is of course applicable to either shirts having only a neckband or shirts with collar attached, whereas these have commonly required different types of apparatus for the finishing or hand-ironing operation.

A shirt which has been finished by the improved method will be found to fold more accurately and neatly, since it has been finished with due regard to the original and natural'lines of the garment, and all puckering due to faulty ironing or setting is eliminated,-a fault which usually shows up where a former is used to shape the collar, resulting in puckering of the shirt front at the base of the collar.v Moreover, a shirt finished in this manner presents not only a neater, more attractive and better finished-product, but one which It may also be pointed out that since the set ting and lining up of the garment by means of the shoulder-lining blades for the finishing operation is practically automatic, a high degree of skill is not required on the part of the labor for operating the improvements, which effects a material saving in labor costs, inasmuch as the work of the hand-ironers has usually required considerable training, skill and experience to become proficient Again, While it is preferable that the ironing for finishing around the collar take place before the release of the pedal (after the positioning of the blades as shown in Figure 3), this is not vital, since the shoulders have been set and the ironing operation may proceed practically as effectively even after the pedals release.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have devised a practical and efficient method and apparatus for carrying out all the desired ob jects of my invention, as stated, and while I have illustrated what now appears to constitute the preferred method as well as form of apparatus for practicing the invention I desire to be understood as reserving the right to make Whatever changes or modifications may fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

l. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members mounted in position to be received within the collar opening of the garment, the length of each of said members being sufficient to project across the corresponding shoulder portion and an appreciable distance past the corresponding shoulder and sleeve connecting seam of the garment, and means for pivotally mounting .said members for swinging movement in opposite directions for engagement with the interior shoulder and sleeve lines of the garment.

2. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members mounted in position to be received within the collar opening of the garment, the length of each of said members being suflicient to project across the corresponding shoulder portion and an appreciable distance past the corresponding shoulder and sleeve connecting seam of the garment, means for pivotally mounting said members for movement in opposite directions for engagement with the interior noulder and sleeve lines of the garment, and means for imparting a spreading movement to said members in accordance with the size of the collar opening.

3. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members mounted in position to be received within the collar opening of the garment, and means for simultaneously swinging said members in opposite directions within the garment into positions conforming to the shoulder slope of the garment.

l. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members mounted in position to be received within the collar opening of the garment, means for simultaneously swinging said members in opposite directions within the garment into positions conforming to the shoulder slop of the garment, and means for spreading said members in accordance with the size of the collar opening.

5. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members mounted in position to be received Within the collar opening of the garment, means for simultaneously swinging said members in opposite directions within the garment into positions conforming to the shoulder slope of the garment, and means for imparting a longitudinal movement to said members while in shoulder-engaged relation.

6. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, laterally movable garment shoulder positioning members projecting over the table surface and having a length suificient to project across the corresponding shoulder portions and an appreciable distance past the corresponding shoulder and sleeve connecting seams of the garment, means for pivotally mounting said members for limited raising movement into position to be received within the collar opening of the garment, and means for operating said members into engagement with the interior top shoulder and sleeve lines of the garment.

'7. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members mounted in position to be received within the collar opening of the garment, means for swinging said members into engagement with the interior shoulder portions of the garment, and means for limiting said swinging movement for stopping said mem-- bers in positions conforming to the angles of the top shoulder lines of the garment.

8. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members mounted in position to be received within the collar opening of the garment, means for swinging said members into engagement with the interior shoulder portions of the garment, means for limiting said swinging movement for stopping said members in positions conforming to the angles of the top shoulder lines of the garment, and means operative to impart further longitudinal movement to said members While in shoulder-engaged relation.

9. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members mounted in position to be received within the collar opening of the garment, means operative to swing said members in opposite directions within the garment into positions conforming to the shoulder slope of the garment, and means responsive to a further operation of said first means for spreading said members a distance apart in accordance with the size of the collar opening.

10. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members mounted in position to be received within the collar opening of [the garment, means operative to swing said members in opposite directions within the garment into positions for engagement with the interior shoulder portions of the garments, means for stopping said swinging movement for stopping said members in positions conforming to the angles of the top shoulder lines of the garment, and means responsive to a further operation of said first means for imparting longitudinal movement to said members while in shoulder-engaged relation.

11. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members pivotally mounted in position to be received within the collar opening of the garment, a sliding rod provided with connections for swinging said members within the garment into positions conforming to the shoulder slope thereof, and additional connections responsive to a further movement of said rod to impart longitudinal movement to said members while in shoulder-engaged relation.

12. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, pivotal supporting means carrying a pair of garment shoulder positioning members in position to be received within the collar opening of the garment, and a rod slidingly carried by said supporting means and provided with connections for swinging said members within the garment into positions conforming to the shoulder slope thereof and also for imparting longitudinal movement to said members while in shoulder-engaged relation.

13. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, pivotal supporting means including a pair of oppositely sliding bearing members, a pair of garment shoulder positioning blades pivotally supported by said bearing members, and an actuating member provided with connections for swinging said blades within the garment into positions conforming to the shoulder slope thereof and also for spreading said bearing members a distance apart in accordance with the size of the collar opening.

14. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, pivotal supporting means including a pair of oppositely sliding bearing members, a pair of garment shoulder positioning blades pivotally supported by said bearing members, and a pedal-actuated rod slidingly mounted in said supporting means and provided with connections for swinging said blades within the garment into positions conforming to the shoulder slope thereof and also for spreading said bearing members a distance apart in accordance with the size of the collar opening.

15. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members mounted in position to be received within the collar opening of the garment, and means for actuating said members into engagement with the interior top shoulder lines of the garment and thereafter imparting further movement to said members for project ing them into engagement with the interior top sleeve lines of the garment.

l6. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members mounted in position to be received within the collar opening of the garment, means for actuating said members into engagement with the interior top shoulder lines of the garment and thereafter imparting further movement to said members for projecting them into engagement with the interior top sleeve lines of the garment, and means acting automatically after each operation of said first means to return said members to initial position.

1'7. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members projecting over the table surface and movable into position to be received Within the collar opening of the garment, and pedal-operated means for operating said members into engagement with the interior top shoulder lines of the garment.

18. Garment finishing apparatus comprising a table providing an ironing surface, garment shoulder positioning members projecting over the table surface and movable into position to be received Within the collar opening of the garment, pedal-operated means for actuating said members into engagement with the interior top shoulder lines of the garment, and means acting automatically after each pedal operation to re turn said members to initial position.

JAS. W. STEELE. 

